Two For Tuesday | December 12, 2023

1.  Candidate Filing for 2024 Has Begun and Continues Until Noon on Friday

Your future leaders are coming into view!  Candidate filing for elected office opened at noon on Monday, December 4th and remains so until noon on Friday, December 15th.  Candidates who decide to run will be competing in 2024 contests for positions from County Commissioner, to State Legislator, U.S. Congress, and all the way up to U.S. President.  Click the links below to see who has filed so far and begin to familiarize yourself with the candidates:

Mecklenburg County Board of Elections – Candidate List

Iredell County Board of Elections – Candidate List

Cabarrus Board of Elections – Candidate List

Gaston County Board of Elections – Candidate List

Union County Board of Elections – Candidate List

My take:  The 2024 Primary Election will take place on Tuesday, March 5th and Early Voting begins in mid-February.  As such, there’s not a ton of time to get to know the candidates but we can help.  We’ll be putting together a Voter Guide for the 2024 Primary Election prior to the commencement of Early Voting.  For now, take a look at the lists above (updated daily by the individual County Boards of Elections) and see who’s running in your neck of the woods.  Remember, these are the people that you entrust to make decisions that more often than not actually affect your daily lives.  Also, download our political leadership guide. It gives you and your friends a lens through which to make proper choices! Important.  Political Leadership Guide   

 2.  Federal Grants May Result in More Rail Options for North Carolina

This is big news when it comes to the impact on growth and real estate development strategies.  According to a recent article, featured in Axios Charlotte, North Carolina is receiving a $1.09 billion dollar federal grant, the largest ever received by the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), toward the S-Line, a passenger rail line from Raleigh to Virginia.  Additional dollars will be allocated to plan and develop rail corridors between other cities, including “high-speed” rail linking Charlotte and Atlanta.  Other corridors to be studies and planned are those between the following cities:

• Charlotte and Kings Mountain
• Fayetteville and Raleigh
• Wilmington and Raleigh
• Winston-Salem and Raleigh
• Salisbury and Asheville

For additional details, read the full article here:  Mega federal investments will revolutionize passenger rail out of Charlotte

My take:  This is great news!  I can see this having a positive outcome for our region and state as more folks will be able to get from where they are to where they need to be, potentially faster, and in a much more efficient manner.  My only word of caution would be to keep in mind the big picture.  High speed rail is powered by electricity.  Standard train engines typically run on diesel fuel.  Let’s figure out how we’re going to power all of these things, including increased use of electric vehicles and heating and cooling our homes.  The more the current Administration chips away at historic energy sources such as coal and goes further on to the extreme practice of limiting the use of natural gas and obliterating energy producing dams, it makes it that much harder to make up the difference.  The private sector should be unleashed to innovate and lead the way on the development of new energy sources, not stifled by unnecessary regulations.    

Rob Nanfelt